There is only one presence and one power (one life force) and that is God! The Scriptures state that God is Spirit. We acknowledge the Truth of the Scriptures that state "We are created in the image and after the likeness of God", and that means that we are also spirit, therefore we are some part of God. We are part of that "One Life Force!"

We've also come to understand and realize that there are masculine and feminine aspects of Spirit, for again, the Scriptures state God created man both male and female. It is good, therefore, to have a day to honor Mothers and Fathers, for we are all grateful for the magnificent contributions of both the masculine and the feminine aspects of Spirit. Life would certainly be incomplete without both aspects in it. Each aspect plays a very important part in every person's life. As a general rule, women express the feminine aspect of Spirit, and men express the masculine aspect, and yet each person possesses both qualities, and at times expresses both aspects of their lives, in their lives.

In reality, as Spirit we are neither male nor female. The real you is Spirit, and Spirit is androgynous, meaning it is both masculine and feminine at the same time. There is a masculine and a feminine side to everyone. Yet each person is unique, and therefore very special. For instance, the total human population on Earth at the time of Jesus was 150 million people. Today, the population increases that much every two years. According to statistics, every minute 100 people die, and every minute 250 are born. Statistics also show that about 60 billion humans have been born on Earth since life began. Today, the world population is approximately 5½ billion people, and if you could line up every human being who has ever lived, you wouldn't find a single person quite like you. You are unique, you are important, and you are needed. You are someone very special, because no one else is exactly like you. You are one of a kind -- you are an original -- you are a special creation of God, and so are Mothers, a special breed of people.

Now I know there are exceptions, but for the most part, Mothers are very special people to their children. A son or daughter may marry and leave home, but there is only one mother, and no one can ever take her place of honor. Some people are like a mother to other people, but only your mother gave you life. The best tribute to mothers I've heard was from a school teacher. She was teaching a class of little children, telling them about the Pilgrims coming to America, and how they suffered hardships their first winter, experiencing cold and starvation. One little girl said "I wish my mommy had been there, she always knows what to do!" That's how most children think of their mother. A mother's heart is the child's classroom. We have all been greatly influenced by our mothers, one way or another.

Actually, each one of us is the mother of our own offshoots, of our own thoughts and feelings, our attitudes and beliefs. So in a real sense we are all mothers, and fathers, and children at the same time. Single parents are both father and mother to their children. Each person is ordained by God to reproduce after their kind, to reproduce after the kind of thoughts and feelings that we each conceive. We are all co-creators with God. We each put certain thoughts together to form ideas, and God (life) is the Power that manifests those ideas as our experiences in life.

Let's go back to the beginning story in the Bible. In Genesis, Chapter one verses 26 and 27, we read that God is saying "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness". The words 'us' and 'our' are plural, so does that imply that there is more than one God? No! It simply means that there is more than one aspect to God, the masculine and the feminine aspects of Spirit, and so there is more than one aspect to you too. The Bible story continues, saying "And God created man in his own image" meaning in effect, that in the image of God he created man, male and female. That means there is a masculine and a feminine aspect to Spirit, to the life force within us all. Whenever we use the term "man", we are not referring to the male gender, but to mankind, meaning humankind which transcends the human male and female gender. Being masculine and feminine has nothing to do with being a man or a woman. Each person is composed of both masculine and feminine attributes of Spirit. Man and woman are the outer, physical forms of Spirit. You are more than your body. You are Spirit. You are Mind. You are the Thinker, and we are all equal as Mind, as Spirit, as expressions of God.

I have never been able to comprehend why women are paid less than men for doing the same work, or why they are not considered equal in every way, because we are all the same on the inside, as Spirit, as Mind, as Thinkers. Both men and women have thoughts and feelings, and both are equally ordained by God to express those attributes of Spirit. We are forever in the process of striving to balance one attribute with the other, between thoughts and feelings, and between the masculine and feminine aspects of Spirit within us, to create harmony and divine order in our lives. The way to create harmony and divine order in our lives is through the spiritual power of love. When we love, we are true to our own spiritual nature, true to others, and true to God. Whether you are a man or a woman, married or single, think of your own thoughts, feelings, attitudes and beliefs as your 'children' and love them and care for them, like a mother cares for her children.

Mothers are very special people. Only a mother can give birth to a child, so Mother's Day is really a celebration of the miracle of life, which is God's love in action. There is also the miracle of Motherhood beyond birth, which is the patience, love and support a mother usually gives her child, to help it grow to maturity. So give thanks to God for the miracle of life, for motherhood, and for love. Your mother gave you life, and what greater gift could one give in return, than to express that life in a loving, joyous way. The Scriptures state "Behold, let us love one another, for love is of God." God is infinite life, and therefore love is infinite also. We can never fully understand love in its entirety, nor in its true, infinite essence, but we can at least begin to express what love we do understand, for only in that way can it grow. Love is not love until it is expressed. I believe that every human heart is crying out, saying "Love me, accept me, and accept my love." Love, like God, is pure and holy, and truly spiritual. We human beings can only express as much love as we can understand, and our understanding is always filtered through our opinions and beliefs, so it never seems to be the way we feel it should be.

Also, there are different kinds of love, or different degrees of love understood and expressed. There is feminine love, masculine love, and both man and woman express both aspects in their lives. There is the love that disciplines, and the love that forgives. There is mother love and father love, both expressed differently. There is tolerant love, strong love, weak love, tough love, spiritual love, mental love, emotional love, physical love, romantic love etc. etc. There are many different degrees of expressing love, and therefore, different degrees of expressing God. If God is all there is, then all there is to express is God, and God is love, so all there is to express is love as each person perceives it to be.

In reference to God, or love, the Scriptures state in Psalm 139 "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence?" We cannot! God's presence is omnipresent, everywhere, and it is what we are, as we are what it is. The purpose for living is to express God, meaning to express love. Love is forever within us, waiting to be expressed.

Another way to spell mother is L-O-V-E. Mothers love their children despite their faults, and God loves you, despite any faults you may have. Love is the forgiving grace of God. Love is the great healer of every situation in life. Love is the great harmonizer of life. Whenever people experience challenges in any kind of relationship, it is not because they don't love, it is usually because they don't EXPRESS enough love.

Water is considered very hot at 211 degrees, but it won't boil until it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit, and likewise, many people may love someone, but they may need to express a greater degree of love to make them happy and feel wanted, important and complete. Mothers usually express that greater degree of love that distinguishes them from all other people, and mothers usually seem to know how to feel love, and how to express it better than men, so mothers hold a special, sacred place in our hearts and lives, and always will. Show your gratitude to your mother by expressing that feeling Mother-love to others. Help to encourage someone, uplift them, and nourish that Spirit of God within them to help make this a more beautiful world to live in.

There are times when we need to express the masculine love within us, and there are times when we need to express the feminine love within us. God put them within us for a reason, and that reason is to express them.

Metaphysically speaking, the subconscious is the feminine, feeling aspect of Spirit. The conscious awareness is the masculine, reasoning aspect of Spirit. They are not two different things. They are simply two aspects of the same thing, different aspects of Spirit, which we all are! When you consciously impregnate the subconscious with a seed idea or attitude, it germinates and develops until it is born into manifestation as your experience in life, which becomes like your own child. Everyone can express that spiritual love with their own thoughts and feelings, and with their attitude towards others. If your thoughts and feelings are loving, you will automatically express that spiritual love to others.

I have just shared with you one of the most powerful truths you could ever learn, and that is "everything happens in your mind FIRST, before it happens as an actual experience in your life." Love, joy, peace, happiness and self fulfillment become possible only when we think and feel love, joy, peace, happiness and self fulfillment by thinking such thoughts in our everyday thinking and identifying with them. There is no power in Heaven or Earth that will keep those things from you, except your own, negative, limiting thoughts and feelings about them.

Let your faith soar as if on eagle's wings, and experience life as it is meant to be, free and beautiful and meaningful, as children of God's love. For this we were born. For this we live. God bless you.

I conclude with one of my poems entitled "Mothers".

MOTHERS

God is truly everywhere
Yet he placed mothers here to share
His love and understanding ways
That mothers bring us every day.
For they succeed in molding minds
The strain oft times leaves facial lines
Yet patient is their love and care
Their charm remains with silvery hair.
The world progresses from their deeds
As they produce the very seeds
Developing a child to man
They hold the future in their hand
The world has paid a tribute to
All mothers for the good they do
To show respect we humbly pay
A small reward, called 'Mother's Day'